eToken to provide students and staff with powerful two-factor, PKI-based authentication, protecting grades, schedules and other sensitive campus data

CHICAGO, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Aladdin Knowledge Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALDN) today announced that Dartmouth College, a prestigious Ivy League institution founded in 1769, chose the Aladdin eToken(TM) USB authentication key to provide powerful yet convenient authentication for students and staff accessing University data.

eToken, a cost-effective, USB-based security key that serves as an alternative to traditional smart card systems, is the size of a normal house key and used in combination with a PIN to provide two-factor authentication. With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Dartmouth promotes nationwide deployment of PKI-based identity management solutions throughout higher education institutions.

Today, Dartmouth’s ever-lasting tradition and dedication to academic excellence is matched with a constant commitment to include the latest technological advances within its renowned educational setting. “We needed a secure way to store digital credentials while also allowing faculty, students, and staff to remain mobile,” said Mark Franklin, PKI Lab Project Manager at Dartmouth. “We have information systems that allow students’ access to schedule and grade information via the network. Our ongoing commitment to protect students’ personal information, now reinforced by FERPA requirements, compels us and other schools to protect our online systems as much as possible, while still simplifying access for users. Two-factor authentication is proving to be a cost-effective way to accomplish this, and strikes a healthy balance between enhanced security and ease of use.”

To make token-based PKI use possible at Dartmouth, Dartmouth selected the Aladdin eToken. It securely stores digital certificates unique to each user, while still providing maximum mobility around campus. Users simply plug in the eToken into their computer’s USB port and type one eToken password, enabling access to a variety of different information systems on campus. eToken’s two-factor authentication will soon be a choice for protecting grades and schedules. “We’re trying to evolve past usernames and passwords for enhanced security and usability,” Franklin said. “eToken is a robust solution that provides us with a secure way of storing our PKI credentials. It also minimizes the hassle of managing multiple passwords by storing many passwords directly on the key itself and only requiring the one eToken password.”

As part of Dartmouth’s initiative to help spread the use of PKI in other higher education institutions around the globe, Dartmouth’s PKI Lab Outreach program promotes the benefits of PKI in an academic setting. The program declares that global higher education PKI use will enable increased information sharing and technological collaboration in a much more pervasive fashion than is possible today. PKI allows secure and controlled sharing of intellectual property, research, and teaching materials. PKI adoption hurdles are lower than ever and benefits are greater than ever.

“A college campus such as Dartmouth is a classic example of an organization battling with the constantly growing number of passwords needed to access different systems,” said Dan Pfeifle, director of national accounts, eToken, Aladdin Knowledge Systems. “We’re pleased to see such a well-known educational institution spearhead a initiative to implement PKI-based authentication solutions in educational settings. eToken offers the initiative a simple, yet powerful capability of confirming and managing digital identities on campus.”

About Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, four-year liberal arts institution that has been at the forefront of American higher education since 1769. A member of the Ivy League, Dartmouth is a superb undergraduate residential college with the intellectual character of a university, featuring thriving research and first-rate graduate and professional programs. This unique combination creates a highly personal learning environment for Dartmouth’s exceptional students and faculty. The quality of the undergraduate experience is marked by close student-faculty interaction, opportunities for independent research, a broad range of off-campus programs, and a diverse student body. For more information, visit http://www.dartmouth.edu.

About eToken
eToken is a USB authentication device about the size of a normal house key. It offers users and IT security administrators a fully portable, cost-effective means to authenticate users and digitally sign sensitive business transactions. eToken PRO offers advanced smart card functionality with a robust onboard cryptographic processor featuring either 1024-bit RSA, 3xDES and SHA1 algorithms. eToken PRO is the ideal solution for PKI enabled applications. Since operations such as signing and PKI key generation are done on the token itself, sensitive data is kept away from the hostile environment of the PC. eToken R2 offers simple yet robust 120bit DESX onboard security functionality as its underlying technology. Both the eToken PRO and the R2 feature a one-piece plastic housing, providing an unmatched tamper-evident and water-resistant container. For more information, visit http://www.eAladdin.com/eToken.

About Aladdin Knowledge Systems
Aladdin (NASDAQ: ALDN) is a leader in digital security, providing solutions for software commerce and Internet security since 1985. Aladdin serves over 30,000 customers worldwide. Aladdin’s products include: the USB-based eToken device for user authentication and e-commerce security; the eSafe line of content security solutions that protect PCs and networks against malicious, inappropriate and nonproductive Internet-borne content; HASP, a hardware-based software security system that protects the revenues of developers; and Privilege, a software licensing and distribution platform. Please visit Aladdin’s Web site at http://www.eAladdin.com.

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